I use butter in recipes where ghee is not an acceptable substitute, and ghee for everyday cooking and consumption. Ghee is the best part of butter--the butyric acid--without the milk solids that cause inflammation in sensitive people. That said, butter is yummy! I agree with Henriette's recommendation of organic butter from grass-fed cows. There's a BIG difference, taste and quality-wise, imo anyway. If you're used to cheapo commercial butter, trying the good stuff is a revelation. You can even make your own, if you have an organic, additive-free source for cream.

If butter doesn't bother you, enjoy. Os have so few dairy options, taking advantage of one small one is kinda nice sometimes.

posting so new people are not confused..........because I got confused w/ some of the above conversation and I've been around awhile..........didnt catch the 'long chain' thing until just now.Ghee conains short chain fatty acids ..that is what makes it so good for us.

From Dr D: Ghee contains short chain fatty acids that really help energize the cells that line the colon, and in exchange, they will work better and interact more efficiently with the bacteria in the gut, further enhancing the breakdown of fiber, which in turn makes more short chain fatty acids, which energize the cells of the colon lining, which…

posting so new people are not confused..........because I got confused w/ some of the above conversation and I've been around awhile..........didnt catch the 'long chain' thing until just now.Ghee conains short chain fatty acids ..that is what makes it so good for us.

From Dr D: Ghee contains short chain fatty acids that really help energize the cells that line the colon, and in exchange, they will work better and interact more efficiently with the bacteria in the gut, further enhancing the breakdown of fiber, which in turn makes more short chain fatty acids, which energize the cells of the colon lining, which…

What everybody needs to remember is that the fat profiles of butter and ghee are identical. Identical. The same amount of short and long chain fatty acids. The difference is that the ghee has the water and the milk solids removed. Making ghee does not magically remove cholesterol or long chain fatty acids. They are still there!

Milk fats … from cow or buffalo milk contained 0.6 and 0.5% CLAs, respectively … microbial fermentation during curd formation increases the CLA content of milk fats to 1.0% … Heating of milk fats … as in ghee making, is known to increase CLA content. There is a further increase of CLA content (2.5-2.8%) in ghee samples when butter is clarified at higher temperatures (120 degrees C) than at the 110 degrees C (1.1-1.3%) traditionally used in villages to make ghee.

In the traditional (desi) method, un-homogenized milk is made into yogurt and then churned with water. The cream rises to the top and is heated until the water is vapourized and the milk solids precipitate out. This is the preferred method, because it “produces almost twice as much conjugated linoleic acid” (p.67)

There is a further increase of CLA content (2.5-2.8%) in ghee samples when butter is clarified at higher temperatures (120 degrees C) than at the 110 degrees C (1.1-1.3%) traditionally used in villages to make ghee.

So if one is clarifying it in an oven of 350 degrees......the CLA is further increased as well?

Just because the oven is 350 degrees does not mean that whatever you are cooking or baking is... I'm not sure how hot the ghee would get in that oven, but in that article they also said that heating it to 120 degrees would be impractical at home... I'll look up the quote when I am at home.

Conjugated linoleic acid (CLA) refers to a family of many isomers of linoleic acid (at least 13 are reported), which are found primarily in the meat and dairy products of ruminants. As implied by the name, the double bonds of CLAs are conjugated.

Conjugated linoleic acid is a trans fat, though some researchers claim that it is not harmful in the same fashion as other trans fatty acids, but rather is beneficial.

Quoted from medscape (bolding mine)

The term conjugated linoleic acid (CLA) describes a group of conjugated, octadecadieonic acid isomers of linoleic acid.[1] The two isomers with known biological activity are cis-9,trans-11 linoleic acid and trans-10,cis-12 linoleic acid. Dietary sources of CLA are animal products, such as beef, poultry, eggs, and heat-processed dairy products like cheese, milk, and yogurt.[2] The typical ratio of cis-9,trans-11 to trans-10,cis-12 in foods is about 30:1 to 70:1; CLA supplements usually provide 50:50 ratios of the two isomers. Linoleic acid does not appear to be converted to CLA within the body in significant amounts. Although plant oils are good sources of linoleic acid, they contain only small amounts of CLA. CLA can be synthesized by exposing the linoleic acid in plant oils (sunflower and safflower) to base and heat.[3]

Linoleic acid is, of course, a long chain (polyunsaturated) fatty acid. The conversion to CLA via makes it a trans fat.

Precautions and ContraindicationsCLA is generally well tolerated. However, because of the potential effects of CLA on glucose regulation, patients with diabetes or cardiovascular disease should avoid CLA use.[1-4]

InteractionsCLA may interact with antidiabetic medications because of its effect on glucose metabolism and with hyperlipidemia medications because of its potential effects on lipid levels.[1-4]

ConclusionAlthough CLA's benefits on body composition are promising, its negative effects on glucose metabolism and insulin resistance are troubling. Supplemental use of CLA produces minimal reductions, at best, in body weight, despite its favorable effects on BFM and possibly LBM. Use of CLA for weight reduction should be reserved as an adjunct therapy to standard weight reduction interventions and limited to patients requiring mild weight loss and at low risk for diabetes and cardiovascular disease. Patients considering CLA supplementation should discuss the matter with their physician and be monitored for glucose and lipid changes.

Natural CLA seems to be useful. If the trans fats created by heating (ie more CLA) are identical then that could be useful. We know there are differences in molecules (eg handedness) that make a difference. That may or may not apply here, I don't know. For the moment I'm assuming them to be the same. There are some reasons to wonder about too much CLA, possibly blood type dependant.

Whatever minor changes there are in the fat profile thru creation of trans-fats, there is still the essentially same long chain and cholesterol profile as previously stated. If anything there is more saturated fat than before, counting the new trans fats as saturated.

EDIT 9/6: Duh, CLA is not saturated. The change in the bond making it a trans fat does not change that it is polyunsaturated. Writing too fast!

Since the CLA is created through heating (like other trans fats that we commonly know of) then anyone frying with butter should get an increase in CLA from their cooking. It would depend on the temperature and time needed among other things. So the CLA effect could possibly be had from butter in some cases. One would think that there would be more notice of increase in trans fats from cooking with butter if this were the case though.

In any case, the CLA increase may be beneficial. At this point it seems to be, there seems to be a lot to learn about it yet. Note the quote in my above response from medscape, which has a number of negative factors.

Actually, most trans fats that people are "scared" of are created through hydrogenation of oils (making liquids into solids). Think margarine - a butter substitute made of "healthier" vegetable oils and made spreadable via hydrogenation (although some margarines are non-hydrogenated). Doing this adds to the shelf life of packaged products that contain fats, because double bonds are less stable (and therefore go rancid faster) than single bonds. Another reason to avoid packaged food...

This hydrogenation reaction in itself does not create trans fats, but rather removes the double bonds in unsaturated oils by pumping in hydrogen. Unfortunately, this reaction can also run backwards and these hydrogenated fats can revert to double bonds. The difference is that when going in reverse, the double bonds reformed can be trans double bonds (a more symmetrical orientation in 3D space), rather than cis (less symmetrical, more lopsided). Thus the name "trans fats". Cis double bonds are found in nature, trans double bonds are generally not. However, since CLA is naturally occurring in animal fats and animal products, I guess some of it IS natural. The same way SOME omega-6 fats are ANTI-inflammatory (contrary to what the general population seems to think)... But that is for another time...

Oh, and my understanding is that the primary benefit of ghee is due to short-chain fatty acids (particularly butyrate), as discussed earlier. These short-chain fatty acids "feed" the colon cells, which are very important because in addition to being an integral part of the immune system, they help produce vitamins such as vitamin K and biotin. Many, many people (Dr. D included) claim that ghee is higher in butyratee than butter, but I haven't gone searching for specific sources. The only book and journal sources I had on hand were about CLA because last year I wrote a paper about ghee.